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Pests in Surrey

"We have had some reports of nests and we have advice for residents on our website," the spokesman said.

Advice on the council's website reads: "It is important not to come into contact with OPM caterpillars, hairs or nests as their tiny hairs can cause skin rashes and less frequently eye and throat irritations and breathing difficulties in people and animals.

"Pets must be kept away from the nests and caterpillars.

"May to July is the greatest risk period when the caterpillars are most numerous."

How to spot an oak processionary moth

They often form arrow-headed processions, with one leader and subsequent rows containing several caterpillars abreast

They are most likely to be found in oak trees, and sometimes on the ground under oak trees

They are most likely to be seen in late Spring and early Summer

They have very long, white hairs which contrast markedly with other, shorter hairs

They do not live on fences, walls and similar structures, as some caterpillar species do

They build distinctive white, silken webbing nests on the trunks and branches of oak trees (almost never among the leaves), and leave white, silken trails on the trunks and branches

Their nests and trails become discoloured after a short time, and more difficult to see as a result

The Forestry Commission says that OPM were first accidentally introduced to Britain in 2005, almost certainly when eggs which had been laid on live oak plants were imported from continental Europe.